The Beekeeper's Promise

by Fiona Valpy

‘You know, Abi, we all bring our own baggage along with us. Perhaps that’s what we humans have in common – what binds us together.

Local people say there are three very ancient lines of energy – ley lines – that converge here. And then there are three rivers that converge in this region, the Lot, the Garonne and the Dordogne. Three of the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela from the north meet here too.

For them, though, it was also the point of no return: flee or be sent to the death camps. The possibility of life or the certainty of death. There was no choice left to be made.

I know how living in a state of fear creates an inertia. It saps your strength and drains your energy, until you become trapped like a fly in a spider’s web. The more you struggle, at first, the tighter the silken threads are woven around you, until finally escape becomes impossible.

Let it be a sign to remind anyone who finds their way into this cave in the future that, come what may, to have known love is the most important thing there is.’

One bee on its own isn’t very strong, but when they stick together and become a community they are strong enough to survive the harshest winter and a fearsome enough force to scare away the most determined predators.’

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

I’ve learned the importance of staying true to what really matters: to love, to loyalty and to living your life as it’s meant to be lived.